In Waves -Book 3

Chapter 51 - It's beginning to look a lot like...T

The weeks had passed since the night that took my breath away in every way.

The scent of pine needles, burnt butter, and sugar-heavy icing filled the house, thick enough to chew. It was the kind of Christmas morning where the radiators hummed a rhythmic, metallic clinking against the chill outside, and the frosted glass of the bay window reflected the warm, twinkling glow of the tree lights.

I leaned against the kitchen doorway, a steaming mug of black coffee cupped between my hands, watching the absolute chaos unfold in the living room.

Charlie—my surrogate brother-in-law, technically married to my cousin Ella, but effectively the chaotic big brother I never knew I needed—was currently on his knees. He was completely pinned to the hardwood floor by a furious whirlwind of pink flannel pyjamas and four-year-old determination.

"I am the Dragon Master, Uncle Charlie! Yield!" four-year-old Aera squeaked, her voice ringing out like a tiny bell. She had her beloved, slightly faded duck teddy, Mimi, stuffed firmly into the waistband of her trousers like a trusty sidekick, while using a giant plastic spatula to smack Charlie repeatedly on his shoulder and in the face, and no adult had thought, amid the chaos, to confiscate it.

"I yield! I yield to the merciful Princess Aera and her winged commander, Mimi!" Charlie groaned, collapsing dramatically onto his back with his hands up. "Please, spare my life! I have a family! Well, I have your aunt, but your mum is currently drinking coffee and refusing to save me!"

"You're not dead yet," Aera declared, unprompted and utterly ruthless. She grabbed Mimi by one plush wing, swinging the duck lightly toward Charlie's nose. "Mimi says you have to eat the soup now."

"Kat," Charlie wheezed, looking toward the doorway. "Kat, please. She's using the duck as an enforcer. The Christmas spirit has claimed her, and it's taken her sanity."

Before I could answer, Ella popped her head out from the kitchen behind me, wiping her flour-dusted hands on a tea towel. She took one look at her husband pinned beneath a four-year-old and a stuffed duck, shaking her head with a dry laugh.

"Don't look at Kat, Charlie. You brought this on yourself," Ella said, her voice dripping with affectionate sarcasm. "I married a grown man, yet somehow I'm looking at two children on the rug, and one of them is losing a fight to a yellow duck named Mimi. Honestly, I think the duck has better tactical awareness than you do."

"Mimi is very strong!" Aera yelled back defensively, holding the duck up in the air.

"Mimi is terrifying," Charlie muttered, wincing as Aera sat squarely on his chest, her little light-up sneakers flashing an aggressive neon blue against his ribs.

I took a slow sip of my coffee, feeling a swell of quiet, breathtaking warmth settle deep in my chest. A year ago, I never could have envisioned this. Last Christmas had been wrapped in a fog of uncertainty, heavy with survival, fear, and the quiet struggle of just trying to keep my head above water for Aera. Back then, happiness felt like a fragile, temporary guest. I never knew—never even dared to dream—that I could feel this happy, this secure, and this surrounded by love just twelve months later.

The front door clicked open, letting in a sudden burst of crisp, frosty winter air and the bright, undeniable sound of laughter.

Hoseok stepped inside, stomping his boots against the rug to shake off the light dusting of snow clinging to the leather. He was bundled in a thick, oversized cream-colored sweater, a dark scarf wrapped high around his neck, his cheeks flushed a brilliant, healthy pink from the cold. In his arms, he carried a towering armful of wrapped packages, topped off with a bright red tin of bakery cookies.